EDITORIAL: Court rulings continue a road to equality

In striking down The Defense of Marriage Act, the nation's highest court has made it refreshingly clear that equality matters. This ruling continues a hopeful and imperative march to afford same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples.

But this emotional battle is far from over.

The Supreme Court's decision does not mean gay couples are allowed to marry anywhere in the United States, as should be their right. Rather, the high court struck down a key provision of The Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, that denied certain federal benefits to those same-sex couples who have been married in states that allow gay marriage, such as New York.

Thirty-six states still ban same-sex marriage, but the trend is clear: It's only a matter of time before more states legalize gay unions, which ultimately will become the law of the nation.

As it turns out, thanks to a separate high court ruling also handed down Wednesday, California could be next. In that case, the justices cleared the way for same-sex marriage to resume in that pivotal state following a long and technical fight over that state's ban on such unions.

For certain, the gay-marriage movement has picked up remarkable momentum in the past decade. Polls show Americans increasingly in favor of it, and that number is much higher for a younger generation of Americans. Shifting demographics and changing attitudes portend an ultimate triumph.

The Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, was passed during the Bill Clinton administration, but the former president had the good sense to renounce it recently. As more and more states have legalized gay marriage, the act has proven outdated and increasingly problematic. It's hard to defend provisions that deny a range of federal tax, health and retirement benefits to any legally married couple, whether that couple be gay or straight.

In writing the 5-4 majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "Under DOMA, same-sex married couples have their lives burdened, by reason of government decree, in visible and public ways. DOMA's principal effect is to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal."

The high court simply could not let such an injustice stand. Wednesday's rulings were watershed moments for the gay-rights movement but, for the sake of fairness, they won't be the last ones.

ADVERTISEMENT

Most Popular

Most Commented

More Headlines

Most Viewed

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

EDITORIAL: Court rulings continue a road to equality

In striking down The Defense of Marriage Act, the nation's highest court has made it refreshingly clear that equality matters. This ruling continues a hopeful and imperative march to afford same-sex